Compact and balanced regulator for delivering pressurized fluid

ABSTRACT

A compensated pressure regulator for fluid under pressure including a hollow body, at least one intake for a fluid at high pressure, at least one outlet for this fluid at low pressure, a mobile regulation piece which slides in a cylindrical bore, able to stop the intake of the fluid at high pressure, and such that it includes a piece of generally cylindrical form with two heads of which the two partial inner and opposing faces are of quasi-equal surface; these two partial inner faces, a part of a bore surrounding the piece in a seal-tight manner and a seal integral with this bore delimits a high-pressure chamber, and the piece with two heads and this bore being mobile in relation to one another, and the intake for the high-pressure fluid emerges laterally in this high-pressure chamber, which fluid transmits to the mobile regulation piece loads which are cancelled out.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a national phase filing under 35 C.F.R. § 371 of andclaims priority to PCT Patent Application No. PCT/FR2015/000117, filedon Jun. 10, 2015, the contents of each of which are hereby incorporatedin its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

Some embodiments are directed to a compensated and compact pressureregulator for the distribution of fluid under pressure and a tank headincorporating the pressure regulator.

The technical sector of some embodiments is the field of the productionand the use of expansion devices for fluid under pressure, such asgases, in which the aim is for the delivery of the fluid under pressureexpanded to a determined pressure to be independent of the pressure ofthe fluid under pressure at the inlet.

In order to produce the expansion of a fluid under pressure, from afirst high pressure level to a second low pressure level, lower than thehigh pressure, it is in fact known to one of ordinary skill in the artto use expansion devices, more simply called pressure regulators.

Related art pressure regulators operate based on the equality of twoforces exerted directly or indirectly, on either side of a mobileregulation piece such as a membrane or a piston, through, on the onehand, the fluid at the high pressure and at the low pressure, and on theother hand an element with expansion or compensation spring effect;thus, in the most commonplace case where the reference force of thespring element is exerted on the side opposite to that transmitted bothby the fluid at the low pressure and at the high pressure, this fluidfills two chambers under two different pressures, separated by apartition provided with a duct in which slides a rod integral to themobile regulation piece and including a valve which can close this ductin the direction from the high-pressure chamber to the low-pressurechamber. When the force transmitted both by the fluid at the lowpressure and at the high pressure is weaker than the opposing onetransmitted by the spring, the latter pushes the mobile regulation piecewhose valve is situated on its rod then opens the intake for the fluidunder high pressure: the latter will thus supply the chamber at the lowpressure until the latter, by increasing, makes it possible to exert aforce on the mobile regulation piece that is equal to, then greaterthan, the opposing force of the spring element; this greater force willpush the mobile regulation piece until the intake for the fluid underhigh pressure is closed, and so on; the balance of the forces thusensures the delivery of a fluid at a quasi-constant desired low pressurefor a determined thrust value of the spring element, which can beadjustable.

However, in most of the related art pressure regulators, if the highpressure of the fluid to be expanded undergoes great variations, thecorresponding force on the mobile regulation piece will change and theopening of the valve will no longer occur at the same moment, resultingin a variation of the low pressure of the expanded fluid through thevalve and therefore a poor operation and efficiency, and disturbances inthe user apparatus, which is situated downstream of the pressureregulator from which it directly receives the fluid at the low pressure.

Each pressure regulator thus has a “dynamic expansion curve” which isrepresentative of this property which can therefore be very detrimental.To mitigate this drawback, several categories of related art pressureregulators have been developed with the objective, more or less wellachieved, of delivering an outlet pressure independently of the inletpressure when the latter can vary, such as:

-   -   those with two stages,    -   those, of conventional type, additionally having a “compensated”        valve which cancels the influence of the high pressure but to        the detriment of simplicity and the compactness of the pressure        regulator, and    -   those, the to be of inverted type, being designed in such a way        that the high pressure, bearing circularly and on a surface at        right angles to the direction of displacement, generates on the        mobile regulation piece a quasi-zero force compared to those        exerted both by the spring element which bears in the direction        of opening of the valve and the opposing force exerted by the        fluid at the low pressure on the surface of the mobile piece and        which tends to close the valve, as described in the patent        applications EP362166, FR2879721 and FR2050407.

SUMMARY

In all the above related art categories of pressure regulators whichtend therefore to deliver an outlet pressure independently of the inletpressure when the latter can vary, the solutions developed are howeverfairly complex, not always achieving the expected result and do not makeit possible to produce a pressure regulator which is compact and simpleto produce: so, the aim of some embodiments is to mitigate these majordrawbacks both in terms of ease of production and of assembly, andtherefore of cost, and in terms of the compactness of the product and ofits reliability.

Some embodiments relate to a pressure regulator that is compensated, butin a novel and innovative manner, that is compact and simple tomanufacture, that is able to be mounted on any type of intake duct forfluid under pressure most directly linking a source of fluid at highpressure to a user apparatus operating at a low pressure, or directlybetween the source and the user apparatus, or even directly on a tank ofwhich it then constitutes the distribution head, and which makes itpossible to distribute, reliably, a low outlet pressure that is constantindependently of the inlet pressure when the latter can vary, and alsothis low distribution pressure being able to be easily adjusted.

These advantages are addressed or achieved through a compensatedpressure regulator for fluid under pressure including, as is in therelated art, a hollow body, at least one intake for a fluid at highpressure, at least one outlet for this fluid at low pressure from adownstream expansion chamber, a mobile regulation piece which slides ina cylindrical bore of the hollow body and which forms a piston, on whichbear on one side the low pressure and on the other side a expansionspring element, and which is able to stop the intake of the fluid underhigh pressure.

The pressure regulator includes a piece of generally cylindrical form,possibly of revolution, with two heads, separated and linked by acylindrical part of smaller section forming a rod, and of which the twopartial inner and opposing faces are of quasi-equal surface, and thesetwo partial inner faces, a part of a bore surrounding the piece in aseal-tight manner and a seal integral with this bore delimiting ahigh-pressure chamber, and the piece with two heads and this bore beingmobile in relation to one another.

The intake for the high-pressure fluid emerges laterally in thehigh-pressure chamber, which fluid then transmitting to the mobileregulation piece loads which cancel each other, the displacement of themobile regulation piece is not modified by variations of the highpressure.

The mobile regulation piece stops the intake of the high-pressure fluidand isolates, in a seal-tight manner, the high-pressure chamber from thedownstream expansion chamber by bearing on the tight seal of the headsituated on the low-pressure side of the downstream expansion chamberwhen the pressure therein transmits a force greater than the opposingforce imparted by the spring element on the mobile regulation piece.

Reciprocally, this mobile regulation piece opens the intake for thehigh-pressure fluid from the high-pressure chamber to the expansionchamber when the low pressure therein transmits a force less than theopposing force imparted by the spring element on the mobile regulationpiece.

According to a first embodiment, the piece of generally cylindrical formwith two heads is the mobile regulation piece on the outer faces ofwhich respectively bear, on one, the expansion spring element and, onthe other, the fluid at low pressure, and this piece slides in the boreintegral with the hollow body.

According to a second embodiment, the piece of generally cylindricalform with two heads is fixed in relation to the hollow body and themobile regulation piece is an independent second piece bearing the boreand the seal: this mobile regulation piece slides around the piece ofgenerally cylindrical form with two heads and also itself slides inanother bore of the hollow body.

The advantages are also addressed or achieved by a tank head, in whichis stored a fluid under high pressure, including a pressure regulator asabove, which is incorporated in the head whose body then correspondingto the body of the pressure regulator, is able to be fixed onto the neckof the tank, the intake orifice for this fluid at high pressure in thepressure regulator then being situated inside the tank and the outletorifice then being situated outside the tank.

The result is a novel compensated pressure regulator for fluid underpressure as well as a novel tank head which meet the above advantages:in effect, the mobile regulation piece is not subjected to the effectsof the high pressure, because, according to some embodiments, the latteris exerted on the one hand only at right angles at the displacement ofthis mobile piece and/or on the other hand on opposite and equalsurfaces, of which the forces which are transmitted to them by the fluidunder high pressure are therefore cancelled out. Such a pressureregulator is perfectly compensated and distributes, at the outlet, in areliable manner, a constant low-pressure fluid independently of thevalue of the high inlet pressure even when the latter varies, and, inaddition, this low distribution pressure can be easily adjustable asexplained herein below.

Moreover, the arrangement of the pieces of which it is composed, and ofwhich the main ones are all coaxial and can be nested and/or screwedinto one another, allows for simple production and mounting and thepressure regulator obtained can be very compact as the examples descriedherein below demonstrate.

Other advantages of some embodiments could be cited but those citedabove already demonstrate enough to prove the novelty and the interestthereof.

The description below and the attached drawings represent four exemplaryembodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, but are in no waylimiting; other embodiments are possible in the context of the scope andthe extent of this the presently disclosed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Indeed, although the presently disclosed subject matter is described inrelation to particular exemplary embodiments, it is obvious that it isin no way limited thereto but, on the contrary, open to modificationsand variants which will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart and that it includes all or most the technical elements of the meansdescribed as well as their combinations provided that the latter fallwithin the scope of some embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a view in axial cross section of a pressure regulatoraccording to a first embodiment according to some embodiments with anadjustment of the low pressure by an expansion spring element bearing ona head of the piece of generally cylindrical form with two heads, whichis also the mobile regulation piece, the contact surface of the headwith the expansion spring having a surface equal to that correspondingto the downstream expansion chamber.

FIG. 2 is a view in axial cross section, as in FIG. 1, of a pressureregulator according to some embodiments with an adjustment of the lowpressure by an expansion spring element bearing also on the same head ofthe mobile piece, but the contact surface of which is larger than thatcorresponding to the downstream expansion chamber and therefore scalesdown the adjustment sensitivity, which allows for a better control ofthe desired low pressure value whatever the inlet high pressure value.

FIG. 3 is a view in axial cross section, as in FIGS. 1 and 2, of apressure regulator according to a second embodiment according to someembodiments with an adjustment to the low pressure by an expansionspring bearing on a head of the mobile regulation piece which slides inrelation to the piece of generally cylindrical form with two heads,which is fixed.

FIG. 4 is a view in axial cross section, as in the preceding figures, ofa tank head containing a fluid at high pressure, which headincorporating a pressure regulator of the type of that represented inFIG. 1 with an outlet of the fluid under pressure at low pressureobviously situated on the outside of the tank and an emergency stopdevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The pressure regulator according to some embodiments includes asubstantially tubular cylindrical hollow body 1 of axis XX′ andproduced, in material compatible with and tight to the fluids underpressure, in several parts of which the main ones have the same axisXX′, that can be nested and screwed together. The pressure regulatorincludes:

-   -   an intake 17 for a fluid under high pressure, at least one        outlet 18 for this fluid under low pressure from a downstream        expansion chamber 13,    -   a mobile regulation piece 23 which slides in a cylindrical bore        of the hollow body 1 and forms a piston: this mobile piece 23 is        subjected, along the axis of this bore on one side and in one        direction to the low pressure and on the other side and in an        opposite direction to the force of a expansion spring element        5,20,    -   a piece 2 of generally cylindrical form, possibly of revolution,        with two heads 12 linked and separated by a cylindrical part of        smaller section called a rod, of which the projections along the        axis XX′ of the two partial inner and opposite faces 28 ₁,28 ₂        are of quasi-equal surface; these two partial inner faces 28        ₁,28 ₂, a part of a bore 22 surrounding the piece 2 in a        seal-tight manner and a seal 9 integral to this bore 22 delimit        a high-pressure chamber 14 corresponding in fact to the free        volume left by the red of the piece 2 with two heads; the latter        and this bore 22 being mobile in relation to one another.

The intake 17 for the high-pressure fluid emerges laterally through oneor more orifices 7 into this high-pressure chamber 14, which fluidtransmits to the mobile regulation piece 23 loads that are either radialor along the axis XX′ but which are cancelled out because they areexerted on equal and opposite surfaces of the faces 28 ₁,28 ₂, and thedisplacement of the mobile regulation piece 23 is not then modified bythe variations of the high pressure.

The mobile piece 23 stops the intake 17 of the high-pressure fluid intothe expansion chamber 13 when the low pressure in this chamber 13, byincreasing because of this intake of fluid under high pressure,compensates, with the additional aid of a possible return spring 6, theopposing bearing force of the spring element 5,20: the increase in thelow pressure thus pushes the mobile regulation piece 23 back until theintake of the fluid at high pressure is stopped and the high-pressurechamber 14 is isolated in a seal-tight manner from the downstreamexpansion chamber 13.

This stopping and this seal-tightness are obtained by bearing on thetight seal 9 of the head 12 ₁ situated on the low-pressure side of thedownstream expansion chamber 13 when the pressure therein transmits aforce greater than the opposing force imparted by the spring element5,20 on the mobile regulation piece 23; and, reciprocally, the latteropens the intake for the high-pressure fluid from the high-pressurechamber 14 to the expansion chamber 13 when the low pressure therein,decreasing, because of the fluid under pressure escaping from thisexpansion chamber 13 through the outlet 18, transmits a force less thanthe opposing force imparted by the spring element 5,20 on the mobileregulation piece 23: which spring element 5,20 once again, but inreverse direction, displaces this mobile piece 23 and allows thisopening, and so on.

According to the embodiments of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the piece 2 ofgenerally cylindrical form with two heads 12 is also the mobileregulation piece 23 ₁; on the outer faces of which respectively bear, onone, the expansion spring element 5,20 and, on the other, the fluid atlow pressure, and this piece 2,23 ₁ slides in the bore 22 integral tothe hollow body 1.

This mobile piece 2,23 ₁, of generally cylindrical form with two heads12 linked by a rod, is a piston of which each head forms an end and onthe outer faces of which bear, respectively, directly or indirectly:

-   -   for the first 12 ₂,26, the expansion spring element, which can        be a spiral spring 5, or a fluid under pressure at a reference        pressure situated in a sealed chamber 20, or even both a spring        and a fluid under pressure, and    -   for the second 12 ₁, the fluid under pressure at low pressure,        and possibly a return spring 6.

The first head 12 ₂ of the mobile piece 2 slides, like an engine pistonin its sleeve, in the bore 22 in a seal-tight manner by virtue of aperipheral O-ring seal 10 ₁ and an anti-extrusion ring 15; the secondhead 12 ₁ slides in a non-seal-tight manner in the downstream expansionchamber 13, which is in fact the extension of the bore 22 with adiameter which is possibly slightly greater.

The outer diameters of these two heads 12 are equal and the innerperipheral edge 21 of the second head 12 ₁, that is to say situatedfacing the first head 12 ₂ in the direction of the axis XX′, comes tobear in a seal-tight manner against the flat and thick, or O-ring, seal9: this seal 9, arranged between the low-pressure chamber 13 and thehigh-pressure chamber 14, is held in place between a shoulder producedat the end of the bore 22 and the end of a bottom piece 3.

This bottom piece 3 is screwed, and blocked in the desired position by alateral needle 11, in a bore produced according to a diameter greaterthan that 22, in which the mobile piece 2 slides and along the same axisXX′. This bottom piece 3 is hollow with a part, of diameter greater thanthat of the head 12 ₁, forming the expansion chamber 13 and containingthe return spring 6, and another part, outwardly open according to themode of representation of FIGS. 1 and 2, constituting the low-pressureoutlet orifice 18, whereas its outer part surrounding this outlet 18constitutes a connection end-fitting 18 ₁.

This low-pressure outlet 8 is represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the axisXX′ of the pressure regulator and oriented downward in the directiongiven by these figures (but which could be upward if the latter wererepresented in the other direction) but the open part of this bottompiece 3, and/or of the hollow body itself 1, can be closed as in FIG. 4and the low-pressure outlet 8 can be situated laterally for examplethrough the wall of the hollow body 1 of the pressure regulator byvirtue of any connecting duct which links for that the low-pressureexpansion chamber 13 and the outlet orifice.

The seal 9 has an outer diameter greater than that of the head 12 ₁ andan inner diameter less than the latter but greater than that of themedian part of narrower section, or rod, of the piston 2, which linksthe two the heads and delimits a part of the high-pressure chamber 14.

The inner peripheral edge 21 of the second head 12 ₁ can be slightlycurved inward to ensure the seal-tightness at its end against the seal 9and better delimit, in this position, a surface of the partial innerface of this second head 12 ₁, equal to the opposite one correspondingto the partial inner face of the first head 12 ₂ delimited between thewall of the bore 22 and the rod of the piston 2.

According to FIG. 2, the end of the mobile regulation piece 23 ₁ orpiece 2 with two heads, which bearingly receives the spring element5,20, forms a head 26 of greater section than those of the heads 12delimiting the high-pressure chamber 14: a connecting duct 24 links afirst downstream expansion chamber 13 ₁, which receives the fluid fromthe high-pressure intake 17 when the mobile regulation piece 2 with twoheads 12 opens the latter, and a second expansion chamber 13 ₂ situatedon the other side of the head 26 of large section of the mobile element23.

This large section of surface of the head 26 then scales down theadjustment sensitivity, which allows for a better control of the desiredlow-pressure value regardless of the input high-pressure value.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the arrangement of the activeelements is reversed: the piece 2 of generally cylindrical form with twoheads 12 is fixed in relation to the hollow body 1 and the mobileregulation piece 23 ₂ bears the bore 22 and the seal 9 which slidearound the piece 2 of generally cylindrical form with two heads 12; andthis mobile regulation piece 23 ₂ itself slides in another bore 29 ofthe hollow body 1.

In this configuration, even if the piece 2 is fixed, because of itscylindrical form in which the high pressure arrives and that of the bore22 which slides around it in a seal-tight manner, the effects of thehigh pressure are exerted only at right angles to the displacement ofthe mobile regulation piece 23 ₂; and even if the bore 22 includesnon-cylindrical surfaces like those of the seal 9, they are opposite andequal surfaces, like the inner ones 28 of the heads 12, and for whichthe forces which are transmitted to them by the fluid under highpressure are therefore cancelled out.

The principle of operation is the same as in the other embodiments ofFIGS. 1 and 2, but with differences at the intake of the fluid at highpressure which arrives 7, 17 through the interior of the fixed piecewith two heads 2 and emerges into the chamber 14 between the two heads12 and it is the piece 3, which holds the seal 9, which ensures theseal-tightness around the head 12 ₂ and is not connected with theexpansion chamber 13. This expansion chamber 13 here surrounds thebottom part of the regulation piece 23 ₂ and, as in FIG. 2, its headwhich bearingly receives the spring element 5,20 is of greater sectionthan those of the heads 12 of the piece 2 delimiting the high-pressurechamber, which here also scales down the adjustment sensitivity andallows a better control of the desired low-pressure value regardless ofthe input high-pressure value.

In all or most the embodiments described above, the pressure regulatorincludes a device 4 for adjusting the thrust of the expansion springelement 5,20, which adjustment device 4 is coaxial to the movement ofthe mobile regulation piece 23 ₁,23 ₂ and its adjustment determines themaximum compression force of the expansion spring element 5,20 inposition of stopping of the intake 7 of the high-pressure fluid andtherefore the low-pressure value.

According to the representation of FIGS. 1 and 2, the adjustment device4 is a bolt screwed into the axis of the hollow body 1 inside a bore 20₁ receiving a mechanical expansion spring 5 and drilled in the extensionof that 22,29 in which the mobile regulation piece 23 ₁,23 ₂ slides.

Whatever the embodiment, and in particular according to FIG. 3, theexpansion spring element 5,20 and the adjustment device 4 are composedof a chamber 20 drilled in the extension of the bore 22,29 where themobile regulation piece 23 ₁,23 ₂ slides and in which a fluid, at givenand adjustable reference pressure, maintains a bearing thrust on thesurface of the head 12 ₂,26,30 of the mobile regulation piece 23 ₁,23 ₂opposite to that on which the desired low pressure bears.

FIG. 4 represents a head of a tank 27 for storing a fluid under highpressure: this head includes a pressure regulator according to theembodiments described previously and more particularly according to theembodiment of FIG. 1; which pressure regulator is incorporated in thehead whose body 1, corresponding to that 1 of the pressure regulator, isable to be fixed onto the neck of the wall 27 ₁ of the tank 27.

The axis XX′ of the pressure regulator is of a direction tangential tothe wall 27 ₁ of the tank, the intake orifice 7 for the high-pressurefluid then being situated inside the tank 27 and the outlet orifice 8being situated outside the latter.

The pressure regulator or the tank head also includes a filling duct 25,which passes through the body 1 and which emerges in the high-pressurechamber 14: it is thus able to allow the tank 27 to be filled with thefluid under high pressure without the need for another passage throughthe shell in the tank head or the tank itself.

In an embodiment not represented here, the axis XX′ of the pressureregulator is in the axis of the neck of the tank, a high-pressure ductthen links the high-pressure chamber 14, both to the interior of thetank and to the outside for filling, and another low-pressure duct linksthe low-pressure chamber 13 to the outside.

The pressure regulator or the tank head includes an emergency stopdevice 4 ₁ for the low-pressure fluid outlet; this device 4 is able torelease the compression force of the expansion spring element 5,20, suchas a handle 4 ₁, articulated at its proximal end on the body 1 of thepressure regulator or tank head, and which, by pulling manually on itsdistal and bent-back free end displaces the adjustment device 4 whichholds the spring element 5: the latter then no longer bears on theregulation piece 2 which thus remains in position of closure and thelow-pressure outlet is no longer supplied.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A compensated pressure regulator for usewith fluid under pressure, comprising: a hollow body; at least oneintake for the fluid under high pressure, at least one outlet for thisfluid under low pressure from a downstream expansion chamber; a unitarymobile regulation piece which slides in a cylindrical bore of the hollowbody, and which, forming a piston on which bear on one side the lowpressure and on the other side an expansion spring element, is able tostop the intake of the fluid at high pressure; wherein the mobileregulation piece comprises a piece of generally cylindrical form withtwo heads of which the two partial inner and opposing faces are of equalsurface, and these two partial inner faces, a part of the boresurrounding the piece in a seal-tight manner and a tight seal integralwith this bore delimiting a high-pressure chamber, and the piece withtwo heads and this bore being mobile in relation to one another, whereinthe intake for the high-pressure fluid emerges laterally in thishigh-pressure chamber, which fluid transmits to the mobile regulationpiece loads which cancel each other, and the displacement of the mobileregulation piece is therefore not modified by the variations of the highpressure, wherein the mobile regulation piece stops the intake of thehigh-pressure fluid and isolates, in a seal-tight manner, thehigh-pressure chamber from the downstream expansion chamber by bearingon the tight seal of the head situated on the low-pressure side of thedownstream expansion chamber when the pressure therein transmits a forcegreater than the opposing force imparted by the expansion spring elementon the mobile regulation piece, wherein reciprocally, this mobileregulation piece opens the intake for the high-pressure fluid from thehigh-pressure chamber to the expansion chamber when the low pressuretherein transmits a force less than the opposing force imparted by theexpansion spring element on the mobile regulation piece, wherein thepiece of generally cylindrical form with two heads is the mobileregulation piece on the outer faces of which respectively bear, on one,the expansion spring element and, on the other, the fluid at lowpressure, and this piece slides in the bore integral with the hollowbody, and wherein the end of the mobile regulation piece or piece withtwo heads, which bearingly receives the expansion spring element, formsa third head of larger cross section than those of the heads delimitingthe high-pressure chamber; and a connecting duct between a firstdownstream expansion chamber, which receives the fluid from thehigh-pressure intake when the mobile regulation piece with two headsopens the latter, and a second expansion chamber situated on the otherside of the third head of larger section of the mobile element.
 2. Thecompensated pressure regulator for use with high-pressure fluidaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a device for adjusting thethrust of the expansion spring element, which adjustment device iscoaxial to the movement of the mobile regulation piece and itsadjustment determines the maximum compression force of the expansionspring element in the position of stoppage of the intake for thehigh-pressure fluid and therefore the value of the low pressure.
 3. Thecompensated pressure regulator for use with fluid under pressureaccording to claim 2, wherein the adjustment device is a bolt screwedinto the axis of the hollow body inside a bore receiving the expansionspring element and drilled in an extension thereof in which the mobileregulation piece slides.
 4. The compensated pressure regulator for usewith fluid under pressure according to claim 2, wherein the expansionspring element and the adjustment device consist of a chamber drilled inan extension of the bore where the mobile regulation piece slides and inwhich a fluid, at given and adjustable reference pressure, maintains abearing thrust on the surface of the third head of larger section of themobile regulation piece opposite that on which the desired low pressurebears.
 5. A tank head, comprising: a tank having a neck; and thepressure regulator according to claim 1, which pressure regulator isincorporated in the head whose body, corresponding to the body of thepressure regulator, is able to be fixed onto the neck of the tank forstoring a fluid under pressure, the intake orifice for the high-pressurefluid being then situated inside the tank and the outlet orifice beingthen situated outside the tank.
 6. The tank head according to claim 5,further comprising a filling duct, which passes through the body andwhich is able to allow the filling of the tank with the fluid under highpressure.
 7. The tank head according to claim 5, further comprising anemergency stop device able to release the compression force of theexpansion spring element.
 8. The tank head according to claim 6, furthercomprising an emergency stop device able to release the compressionforce of the expansion spring element.